This article is Part 4 in a series of “Real Stories from Real Recruiters.” We check in with several Brightwingers to reveal some important lessons for anyone who’s looking either for talent or for opportunities. (Click here to read Parts 1, 2, and 3.) This story is from Brightwinger Steve Ermak, Business Development Manager.
Does Your Job Description Reflect the Realities of the Marketplace?
I was working with a client in the automotive space who was traditionally really great to partner with. They came to us with a difficult, highly technical software engineering role which had been open for six months. They’d already tried to fill the position twice, but neither candidate had worked out.
We looked at the resumes of the candidates they’d tried to hire and right away realized that the company was desperate to fill this position. They had taken on people who were not the best fit, making desperate hiring decisions after failing to find candidates who matched their stringent technical requirements. I wasn’t very surprised those candidates didn’t work out.
We met with the hiring manager to go through each and every required skill set and responsibility on the job description, asking if and why it was truly required. Their original requirements narrowed the national talent pool to an extremely limited selection, which is why they had struggled to find someone locally. With a more realistic and pared-down list of skill sets and responsibilities in hand, we researched the marketplace to help the client understand the availability of qualified talent. It was this research that indicated our search should be on a national level, rather than just local. This meant putting together an attractive relocation package. Before we started searching, we also made it clear to our client that a speedy hiring process was paramount in successfully recruiting someone for this role.
With this solid foundation set, we got to work searching for technical talent. Fairly quickly, we found several people who looked great on paper. However, the client provided us with a handful of technical “knock out” questions to help nail down candidates who really knew what they were talking about. We quickly ruled out those first few candidates. Our next find, though, seemed perfect. Though he was from an aerospace background rather than automotive – and he lived four states away – it was clear that he was the “purple squirrel” our client had been looking for.
A successful phone interview quickly led to flying this candidate out for a face-to-face meeting with our client. True to their commitment, the hiring process was efficient, and they soon made an attractive offer – complete with a competitive relocation package – to this candidate. He started the job just a few weeks later, and we’ve received excellent feedback from both him and our client.
We’re here to be advisors for our clients. We know the challenges of the market, and we’re not afraid to speak up when we don’t see realistic expectations reflected in a job description. We work hard to build a level of trust with the people we work with so that we can overcome those hurdles and get to work on making the perfect match.
Watch out for more of our “Real Stories from Real Recruiters” by following us on LinkedIn. We’d love to share more of our insight with you – dig deeper into our process here.
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vehicles are “built from the ground up” to meet the needs of its future goals. It did preview three new models for its next-generation propulsion system, which included the familiar designs of a Buick crossover and a Cadillac wagon.
“If you’re looking to advance your engineering career, be prepared! Make sure your resume is up-to-date and proofread, and be ready to answer questions that recruiters may ask you – like ‘What type of job opportunity are you looking for?’ It seems straight-forward, but it could come down to a specific part of a vehicle you want to work on – be specific.”
“Don’t be afraid to show your passion if it relates to your job, as well as your personal life. There is a lot of people that want to be in the industry, and you will need to stand out.”
“Let your friends and trusted networks know if you’re looking for a new engineering job. They could come across someone that has potential opportunities. It happens all the time.”
The federal government will be allocating $4 billion over the next 10 years to help speed up the development and adoption of fully autonomous cars, according to a press release. US Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx also announced that the federal government will remove any potential roadblocks currently preventing the technology from taking off. 
Connected-car service provider 
The British Government has just committed almost $30 million to develop various facets of autonomous car tech, a chunk of which Bosch and Jaguar Land Rover are getting to develop self-driving cars that actually “drive like humans, not robots.” 
It seems like the entire automotive world is focusing on autonomous cars. Not all automakers are looking to embrace autonomous cars; Porsche’s CEO has said that the company doesn’t plan to embrace the autonomous future. 
